The Chicago Trib has a thoughtful analysis of the implications of Mike Nifong’s damaging prosecution of the Duke rape allegations which points out that regardless of the rape charges,

“Photos taken at the party show two young women, hired to perform by the players, dancing at the center of a group of largely drunken and leering men. The North Carolina attorney general’s report details how one of the lacrosse players held up a broomstick during the night’s events, suggesting that the women use it as a “sex toy.” Another player sent a chilling group e-mail just hours after the party, musing about bringing in more “strippers” and cutting off their skin while ejaculating. Witnesses reported hearing racial slurs lobbed by partygoers.”

We wish to draw to public attention, and to denounce in the strongest terms,
threats against women’s organizations in Guatemala working for women’s
rights. In particular, we refer to threats recently directed against our
activists in Actoras de Cambio (Women Acting for Change). We are a
Consortium formed by two Guatemalan NGOs, the National Union of Guatemalan
Women and the Community and Psychosocial Action Study Team.

“Stop doing what you are doing – unless you want to be one more raped and
widowed woman!” was the way one threat against a member of Actoras de Cambio
was worded. Such an explicit warning of rape and murder represents an
assault on the personal integrity and life of our members and their
families. It indicates a heightened level of danger for defenders of human
rights in Guatemala.

From Women in Black:
DRAFT PLATFORM ON THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN SERBIA

Noting that violence and a lack of tolerance and respect for others – especially
ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities – has become dominant in behavior and
communication in all segments of modern Serbian society, seminar participants
emphasized that the media and state institutions, especially The Prosecutors’
Office and the Ministry of Justice act with impermissible benevolence and
approval towards this social climate. They even build relationships with
political parties. In this way, these institutions express and confirm their
lack of readiness to confront the causes and consequences of the wars and war
crimes committed in our name in the former Yugoslavia.

“Pregnant Iraqi women who have been forced from their homes by worsening violence are obtaining illegal abortions because they are unable to get medical care for themselves and their unborn, according to a new report by a national humanitarian group.”

In addition:

“”Pregnant women, infants and children are unable to get…required medical care,” states the report, which was translated from Arabic, “and criminal abortion became [sic] the norms.”

Rape, theft and drug addiction have also become “commonplace” among the displaced, who live in government buildings, at relatives’ homes, tents, or squat in abandoned homes or makeshift huts on empty land, according to the report, which was first noted on the Iraq news site Iraqslogger.com.”

June 20, 2007Posted by Fempeace on June 20, 2007Comments Off on Rapes and Illegal Abortions Part of the Horrific Reality for Iraqi Women Refugees